57 Chapter 56 (1/2)

Now that he was done confirming his financial status….

Jin-Woo splurged on a nice-looking business suit at a department store. He still found himself with more than enough free time, so he stopped by a hair salon nearby and got a much-needed haircut as well.

”Hmm.”

He had transformed into someone completely different compared to when leaving the apartment.

'This is why having money is way better than not having any.'

And they said that good clothes would become one's wings, too

Jin-Woo stopped by the front of a shop's window on the street and checked out his reflection for a bit, before shrugging his shoulders.

His preparation was as perfect as it could get.

'I'm sure I won't leave behind a bad first impression.'

He adjusted his clothes for a bit, before confirming the time through his phone. It said 16:20.

'I'm supposed to get there before five, right?'

If he got going now, he should arrive on time.

”Taxi!”

Jin-Woo grabbed a taxi and arrived in front of Jin-Ah's school, with enough time to spare. And as luck would have it, he spotted Jin-Ah standing by the school's front gate.

”Seong Jin-Ah-!”

Discovering her older brother belatedly, she gasped out in pure shock.

”Oppa??”

Jin-Ah's eyes became extra round like a rabbit's as she asked cautiously.

”Are…. are you really Mister Seong Jin-Woo?”

”Can't you recognise your own brother?!”

Jin-Ah swept her gaze all over Jin-Woo with a stunned expression still etched on her face, her voice naturally rising higher.

”It's because you've changed so much, you know!”

”What, so you wanted me to show up in my tracksuit and slippers when meeting your new homeroom teacher?”

”Wow….”

Jin-Ah still couldn't close her slack jaw.

”Hey, your chin might fall off at this rate. Anyways, I'm going ahead. Okay?”

Since his sister didn't show any sign of guiding the way, Jin-Woo simply took the lead. Five years ago, Jin-Woo too was a student in this very school. He already knew its layout like the back of his hand.

Now normally, if teachers wanted to speak to the parents, then the meeting place would either be the staff room or at the counselling office. But today's matter involved Jin-Ah's future career path, so he should head to the counselling office.

And so, Jin-Woo's steps quickened.

”O-Oppa! Wait for me!”

Jin-Ah hurriedly ran after her older brother.

”Hello there, teacher-nim.”

”Yes? Oh, uh, hello to you too.”

While on his way, Jin-Woo greeted several teachers he ran into. All of them stopped in their tracks without exception, and took a look behind them, at the departing back of Jin-Woo.

'Who was that?'

'Is he a graduate from this school? But, there's no way I'd have forgotten about such an eye-catching student like that.'

'Is he a new teacher?'

It wasn't only the teachers who were looking at him, though.

”Wow, he's good-looking, isn't he?”

”Who is he?”

”Wait, isn't that Jin-Ah next to him?”

”He must be Jin-Ah's oppa. Wow, he's pretty cool.”

A well-built frame and a stylish business suit – although his facial features were on the plain side, the synergy between those two points were powerful enough to attract the attention of the female students.

Too bad, the guy in question wasn't interested at all, though.

'....'

Jin-Woo simply let the girls' whisperings slip in one ear and slide right out the other. The one to get really psyched up was Jin-Ah, actually.

She perked her ears up and listened to the assessment of her brother coming from the surroundings in a fit of happy giggles. She then sneaked closer to Jin-Woo's side and lightly poked him on his waist with her elbow.

”Hiya~, oppa, you're proving to be really popular today, wouldn't you agree?”

He ignored this.

”Wait, now that I think about it, oppa, you still haven't found a girlfriend yet, right?”

He also ignored this one.

”Should I, your trusty little sister, introduce you to a cute high school girl?”

And with that, Jin-Woo began pinching her cheeks with an emotionless face.

”Stop being cute, okay?”

”I'm… I'm sowwy….”

Jin-Woo eventually released her cheeks. Jin-Ah rubbed her reddened cheeks and pouted unhappily.

”Che. I know you also like the attention, though….”

Walking while lightly bickering amongst each other, they had arrived at the destination already. Jin-Ah ran past Jin-Woo and spun around in front of the counselling office.

”Oppa, we're here.”

Just before entering the office, Jin-Woo looked at his sister. She wasn't budging from her spot.

”What about you?”

”Today's the teacher and parents only. I'm going back to my class as soon as you go inside.”

”Oh.”

Listening to Jin-Ah, he remembered something similar happening back when he was still a high-school senior. Back then, no one came, though.

'It was around the time when it got harder and harder for mom to move around, right?'

His mother began to frequent the hospital right around then.

He feared that she might push herself too hard, so he didn't tell her about the teacher-parent meeting. And he got to suffer from his homeroom teacher's lectures for quite a while because of that.

When recalling those moments, he could understand the reason for Jin-Ah being so anxious today. Jin-Woo smiled gently and asked her.

”You having the night class today as well?”

”Ng. Oppa, don't wait for me and go home first.”

”Okay.”

Jin-Woo sneak attacked her and rubbed her hair all out of shape.

”Study hard, okay? I'll see you later.”

”Ah! Stop it!”

”See you later at home.”

Jin-Woo grinned and disappeared into the counselling office.

Jin-Ah's cheeks puffed up as she smoothed her hair.

”Still treating me like a little kid….”

Of course, she didn't display any hint of disliking that.

Maybe someone saw the whole thing? Jin-Ah quickly scanned her surroundings and confirmed that there was no one around her. She sighed in relief and trotted away to her class.

If he were to put into words the first impression he got from Jin-Ah's homeroom teacher?

'Mm….'

She kind of looked 'generous'.

”You must be Jin-Ah's oppa.”

She was a middle-aged teacher with a wizened look about her. The overall impression she gave off was someone who could make other people feel better with a gentle and warm smile on her face.

She perhaps knew his story, because she wasn't surprised in the slightest to see Jin-Woo being here as Jin-Ah's guardian.

”How do you do? I'm Jin-Ah's homeroom teacher. I didn't quite expect Jin-Ah to be hiding someone this cool as her brother, to be honest. Ohoho.”

Having received her outgoing and welcoming words, Jin-Woo bowed his head politely as well.

'I haven't seen her before.'

She must've started teaching after he graduated from this school.

Didn't someone say that a person's impression would be decided upon the first meeting? After sharing their greetings, he did feel a bit more relaxed.

'Well, she's using polite speech to someone who's many years her junior, too.'

It seemed that his little sister's third year in high school wouldn't be that traumatic after all, since she was lucky enough to run into a pretty nice homeroom teacher.

”Please, take a seat over here.”

She showed him to a chair. Jin-Woo settled down on the opposite side to Jin-Ah's homeroom teacher across a large desk.

”We can rest easy about Jin-Ah now.”

They conversed for a while with typical topics that a homeroom teacher and parents would normally share, the atmosphere remaining cordial and rather cheery throughout the chat.

Since Jin-Ah was a model student, there was no reason for either Jin-Woo or the teacher to raise their voices at each other.

”Are you aware that Jin-Ah has set her sights on entering a medical school?”

”Yes, I am.”

The lady teacher began reading the prepared information.

”Her scores in the mock test are excellent. And her regular grades are very good as well, so she should get in without too much problem. Still, please make sure that you don't pressure her too much at home.”

Jin-Woo silently nodded his head.

From the teacher's excited face, one could easily spy her high expectations of Jin-Ah's future.

The thing was, the homeroom teachers tasked with looking after high school seniors were also under a tremendous level of stress as well. Since it involved the rest of these third-year students' lives, how could they not get stressed out?